Or: Will The Real ASCO Al Stand Up.
Several years ago our company nurse commissioned the son of an employee who is an artist to create a series of twelve safety posters, one for each month depicting different monthly safety subjects, featuring a fictional person called ASCO Al.
Every year the company has a Halloween “Spirit” Week which include guessing how many candy corn are in a jar, a pumpkin carving contest and a costume contest. Over the years I’ve thought that maybe I would join the fun and come in costume. I’m almost perfect to come as Obi-Wan Kenobi (from a New Hope), I even have the plastic lightsaber handle. But every year I did nothing.
Until 2014 when I discovered Steve Wintercroft’s beautiful paper low-poly masks. The first time I scared people with a giant skull. The next year I tried a two for one, I made a jack-o-lantern mask and entered it in the carving contest and then wore it as a costume (winning neither.)
Sometime early this year I decided to put up or shut up and come in a “real” costume. And I knew just what it would be, the real life representation of ASCO’s Safety Guy, Al. I already had the ear plugs and safety shields that fit over glasses. The white gloves are stocked in our tool crib and blue jeans were no problem either, I just needed a red beret and a white polo shirt. The beret we found in a costume shop in Charleston when we got stripes put on the CTBNL and polo shirt came from the local Goodwill store. I was going to use a green Sharpie to put the ASCO logo on the shirt, but in the end I had one of Donna’s fellow MRP Planners create them in iron-on vinyl because she does that sort of thing as a side line. I’ve got a real white mustache already, but because of the beard it needed enhancing, so we bought a 99¢ stick-on ‘satche at Party City that I shaped to fit.
Friday was dress up day and voting began today. I’m fairly sure I’ll get at least three votes, me, Donna and the company nurse, but after that who knows. ASCO AL appears on at least a dozen posters scattered all around the plant in different scenarios every month and is also featured in the company’s monthly newsletter which is posted on every table in the cafeteria and in every bathroom stall, yet still at least half the people I talked to on Friday had no idea who I was.
Tell me who you would have voted for in the comments below:
